


Dance to Express (and Maybe Just a Little to Impress)

by Pippinpaddleopsicopolis (Barnable)



Series: Whenever I'm Around You [7]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: ATLA WLW Week 2020, Alternate Universe - Modern with Bending (Avatar), Dancing, Day Seven: Free Day | Korrasami, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, It's Not a Sexy Thing, It's a Badass Women Showing Off Their Strength Thing, Kissing, Korra POV, Korra/Asami Sato-centric, Pole Dancing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:08:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26659489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barnable/pseuds/Pippinpaddleopsicopolis
Summary: Asami finally reveals the secret to her training routine, and Korra insists her girlfriend share her knowledge of the craft.
Relationships: Korra/Asami Sato
Series: Whenever I'm Around You [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1931983
Comments: 7
Kudos: 57
Collections: AtLA WLW week 2020





	Dance to Express (and Maybe Just a Little to Impress)

“All right, close your eyes.”

Asami was the only person Korra would ever trust to guide her. Even out of all her friends, there was only one person she felt safe truly letting her guard down with, and that was her girlfriend. And not just because the one time she let Bolin put his hands over her eyes, he walked them both straight into a wall. No, it was because there was something so fierce yet so gentle about her nature, and Korra loved it so much. She loved her so much.

“You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?” asked Korra, suddenly wishing she hadn’t worn shoes. If only she had, she’d at least be able to stop shuffling and know that there was nothing in her path. “You know, this would probably go a lot faster if I could see.”

“I know, but it would ruin the surprise.” The kiss Asami pressed to her temple was enough to hold Korra over. She couldn’t help but smile when she felt her girlfriend’s fingers slide through her hair, gently tickling the edges of her cheek. “I promise it’s going to be worth it. You’ve been waiting ages for this.”

“Wait, wait, wait, are you finally going to tell me where you go on Thursday nights?”

It wasn’t like it was a big secret. Korra knew that Asami did some form of exercise every Thursday night and some scattered afternoons, she just didn’t know what that exercise was. Normally, she wouldn’t have liked the secrets, but she didn’t mind it with Asami. She promised she would share at some point, and Korra trusted that she was telling the truth.

“Maybe.” Asami’s tone was teasing, but a little off like she feared what Korra’s reaction might be. She didn’t say that, however, only squeezing Korra’s hand as they walked slowly down a short flight of stairs. Korra held onto her tightly, again wishing she weren’t wearing shoes. “It’s not what you’re expecting so just… don’t freak out, okay?”

“Freak out? No way.” It was only because she was blindfolded that Korra didn’t open her eyes and turn to look at her girlfriend. “Unless your harboring the world’s most powerful spirit, I think I’ll be fine. And even then, I could take it.”

“I know you could. But believe me, this isn’t something you’re going to want to punch.”

When they came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, Asami finally pulled the blindfold from Korra’s head. She frowned, taking in the sight around her. It was basically just a basement, with regular basement things scattered around, but in the center back was a shining golden pole. It took a moment for it to click, and when it did, Korra’s jaw dropped. She whipped around to look at Asami, who was already holding her hands up in defense.

“I promise it’s not a sexy thing,” she said quickly. Her beautiful face looked a little concerned too, like she didn’t think Korra would approve. “I know a lot of people look at it that way but it’s a legitimate form of art, and it’s an _amazing_ way to train. You wouldn’t believe the amount of strength it takes to do even some of the simplest movements.”

“Oh, yeah?” Korra crossed her arms, raising one brow mischievously. “Why don’t you show me, then?”

Asami hesitated before nodding. She slid her jacket off from around her shoulders, allowing Korra a moment to admire her smaller but still incredible biceps and back. Korra took the jacket from her arms, following Asami over to the pole. She didn’t do anything right away, just turning back to look at Korra over her shoulder. More than ready to see her girlfriend in action, Korra gave her two thumbs up and nodded encouragingly.

Though she was clearly prepared to start, Asami took several seconds to position herself. She glanced back to Korra once more, letting out a deep breath before gripping her hands around the pole and allowing it to take her weight from the floor. Instantly, Korra found herself mesmerized by each of Asami’s movements; from her feet sliding on the ground and up the pole, to her hips hugging it just enough to hold herself up, all the way to her hands and her hair twirling around with each movement.

By the time her girlfriend slid back onto the floor, pushing her hair from her face, and leaning one hand against the pole for support, Korra was equally out of breath. Asami might have claimed it wasn’t a sexy thing, but to Korra, every one of her movements was gorgeous, mesmerizing, and she almost wanted to ask to see more. But Asami was clearly winded from the movements, so she chose to take another approach.

“That was _sweet_.” Korra ran over and threw her arms around Asami, lifting her off the ground a few inches as she buried her in an embrace. “Can you show me how to do that? Like, the thing you just did with your hips? How were you holding yourself up like that? It was insane!”

“No wonder you mastered everything so quickly.” Rather than answering right away, Asami pressed a quick kiss to Korra’s lips, smiling when she pulled away. “You are just _ridiculously_ eager to learn.”

“Not my fault you made it look so good.” She stepped right past Asami over to the pole, reaching her hands out to grip onto it. Korra expected it to be cold, but the moment her fingers touched the surface of it, she realized it was warmed from Asami’s grasp. “So, what do I do?”

“First thing, there are some rules. Namely no bending it. I know it can seem tempting, but it really defeats the purpose.”

“Please, I don’t need bending. What do you think these are for?”

The moment Korra flexed her muscles, Asami nearly swooned. She reached out when Korra lifted herself onto the pole, her hands resting on either side of Korra’s hips. Asami laughed when Korra made a face and dropped back onto the dirt, giving her girlfriend a look. It wasn’t that she didn’t have the strength to do it, she just didn’t know how to move as gracefully as Asami did.

“You don’t have to know how to do it perfectly,” said Asami, as if she were reading Korra’s mind. “Just start by practicing the simple movements, okay? Lifting yourself up, spinning around it, learning how to hug the pole with your hips—it’s all just basic motions that build into something bigger.”

“All right, let me try it again.”

This time, Korra didn’t focus so much on being graceful. Instead, she worked on the strength part of the art, doing her best to mimic Asami’s motions without the precise beauty. Occasionally, Asami would reach out to adjust her, but she wouldn’t do much more than that. She just gave her quiet tips and commented on how great she was doing, despite the fact that Korra _knew_ she wasn’t half as good as her girlfriend.

It didn’t take long to realize that Asami was right, however. The pole required serious strength, and within minutes, Korra was starting to feel tired just from working certain muscles that she didn’t normally focus on. She smiled when she turned back around to look at Asami, brushing off her palms after a little too long of gripping onto the pole. She hadn’t tried gripping onto it with her legs yet. It seemed like a big step up. Not that she couldn’t take it.

“Okay, now try a little spin.”

There was no point during this movement that Asami’s hands fully left Korra’s body. She wasn’t holding her girlfriend, just gently guiding her through the motions and showing her the way to do it. Korra couldn’t stop herself from smiling when Asami taught her how to move her hips with the pole. Despite her efforts, Korra was far stiffer than Asami was, but she didn’t mind it. Just like she’d powered through to learn airbending, she could learn to do this.

After a few minutes of spinning around on the pole, Korra latched onto Asami’s hand and dipped her, grinning when she saw her girlfriend’s flushed face. Just because they’d come downstairs for the pole didn’t mean they had to be restricted to it. She lifted Asami back up, taking a step back to properly ask for her hand. Or rather, to _goofily_ ask for her hand, as it was far from a truly elegant gesture.

“May I have this dance, milady?” she asked, deepening her tone in an absolutely ridiculous way.

Asami laughed. “Of course.”

Whether either of them were good at dancing or which dances they were good at didn’t matter. Korra let herself go free immediately, and Asami followed her lead, her laughter echoing around the room when Korra did some particularly ridiculous moves. She leapt onto the pole once or twice too, but never did anything particularly special like Asami had; just spinning around it as she reached for her girlfriend’s hand (she thought spinning into a kiss was pretty clever, but Asami only smirked and booped her nose).

After the third time she bent the pole into a ridiculous shape—she bent it back every time, but Asami still didn’t seem too pleased—Korra stepped aside for Asami to have space for the pole again. That time, as she watched her girlfriend spin around in a perfect, flowing motion, Korra realized that she was right. There was nothing overly sexy about what she was doing. Yeah, Korra liked it because it was her girlfriend, but it was just beauty. Power. A channel and an outlet for so many qualities that Asami already had.

“Korra, come here.”

Asami was just hanging onto the pole at that point, her toes standing on an angle and one arm holding her up. Though Korra wasn’t entirely sure what Asami wanted from her, she walked over, a small smile still lingering on her face when Asami gently nudged her down to her knees. That only confused Korra further, and for a second, she had absolutely no idea what was happening until Asami suddenly flipped; her hair spilling around Korra’s face as she clung to the pole with only her thighs and knotted legs.

In all honesty, Korra had never pictured herself doing the Spider-Man kiss, and even if she did, she would definitely be the one playing Spider-Man since she was basically a real-life superhero. But she couldn’t get enough of how soft Asami’s lips were. The positioning was a little awkward, sure, but being able to admire not only her girlfriend’s strength but her passion and her gentle touch as she reached down to stroke Korra’s cheek was absolutely breathtaking.

When they pulled away, Asami spun around, sliding down the pole in a motion that was _definitely_ over the top to impress Korra. It worked. Her eyes never left Asami’s body as she slid down to the floor, crossing her legs beneath her when she sat beside her girlfriend. Asami said nothing, her breathing a little heavy as she recovered from the effort she exerted while on the pole; not just with her flourish getting down, but all the time she spent hanging by her legs while kissing Korra (which was probably only a minute, but that’s a long time when you’re upside down).

They sat in silence for a moment, Korra unable to tear the smile from her face as she looked between the pole and her girlfriend. She couldn’t believe that _that_ was what Asami had been keeping from her. Of all the things she wouldn’t have approved of—which, honestly wasn’t that much, she was pretty much cool with whatever Asami wanted to do—that would never even have made the list. She grinned again when Asami gave her a look, nudging Korra’s knee with the ball of her foot.

“What are you smiling at?” she asked, furrowing her brow as another smile crept up her own cheeks.

“Oh, just the most amazing woman in the world,” Korra answered, and not one word of it was a lie.


End file.
